Infant Massage
Early Intervention Program
By Natalie Liggett
Problem
The problem I have identified is that
Early Intervention Specialists seek
evidence-based and naturalistic
intervention methods to encourage
family involvement in their child’s
acquisition of developmental skills.
Solution
The solution I propose is to use an infant
massage program as an intervention
strategy for families of young children
from birth to the age of three with special
needs in their own homes as a way to teach
parent responsivity to their child’s cues,
facilitate positive developmental and
health outcomes, and encourage positive
attachment patterns.
Expected Outcomes of
Infant Massage Program
• Teach parent
responsivity to
infant’s cues
• Contribute to positive
health outcomes
• Contribute to infant
developmental skill
acquisition
• Encourage positive
parent-infant
attachment patterns
Philosophy
Pragmatic: within the
context of the family
Psychology
Ethological: Emphasizes the
child’s experiences and
interactions within his
environment
Attachment Theory
A secure base for exploring
The Strange Situation
(Ainsworth)
Hudson (Huck) enjoys
Infant massage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2wIgRIYPe0&feature=related
Research
Infant massage has an impact
on attachment if continued
Infant massage has been
used as therapeutic method
by hospital staff,
occupational and physical
therapists
The Joys and Benefits of
Infant Massage
Numerous studies have found that
massage plays a significant role in
promoting the proper growth and healthy
development of infants. Physically,
massage stimulates the nerves, increases
blood flow and strengthens the immune
system. It can relieve a host of childhood
complaints from colic to constipation. A
daily rubdown on a baby’s belly, for
example, helps work out gas and regulates
digestion. Massaging the chest may ease
congestion. Gently stroking an infant’s
face can improve her ability to suck.
Most of all, massage is good for parent-
child bonding.
www.parenthood.com
Touch Research
Institute
Researchers at the Touch Research Institute, located at the
University of Miami School of Medicine, have conducted more than
100 trials on the benefits of massage therapy. The following is a
sampling of the results pertaining to work with infants, children
and their parents. (For more results, visit www6.miami.edu/touch-
research.)
Touch Research Institute
University of Miami School of Medicine
P.O. Box 016820, Miami Fl, 33101
(Located at Mailman Center for Child Development 1601 NW 12th
Ave, Miami FL, 33136, 7th Floor, Suite7037)
Phone: 305-243-6781
Fax: 305-243-6488
Email: tfield@med.miami.edu
Touch Research Institute
The Touch Research Institute The Touch Research Institute is dedicated
to studying the effects of touch therapy.
The TRI has researched the effects of massage therapy at all stages of
life, from newborns to senior citizens.
In these studies the TRIs have shown that touch therapy has many
positive effects.
For example, massage therapy:
1. Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
2. Enhances attentiveness
3. Alleviates depressive symptoms
4. Reduces pain
5. Reduces stress hormones
6. Improves immune function
10 Trials
That Highlight
How Massage
Benefits Children
http://www.babysfirstmassage.com/UserMods/babymassage.pdf
Infants of
Depressed Mothers
Infants who received massage therapy compared to those who
were rocked experienced greater daily weight gain; more
organized sleep/wake behaviors; less fussiness; improved
sociability and soothability; improved interaction behaviors; and
lower cortisol and norepinephrine and increased serotonin levels.
(Field T, Grizzle N, Scafidi F, et al. “Massage therapy for infants
of depressed mothers.” Infant Behavior and Development. 1996:
19, 109-114.)
Cocaine Exposed Infants
Cocaine-exposed newborns had
fewer postnatal complications,
increased weight gain, better
performance on the Brazelton
Neonatal Behavior Assessment
Scale (particularly on the motor
scale), and less stress behaviors
following 10 days of massage.
(Scafidi F, Field T, Wheeden A,
et al. Cocaine exposed preterm
neonates show behavioral and
hormonal differences. Pediatrics.
1996: 97, 851-855.)
Cocaine Exposed Infants 2
Cocaine-exposed preterm neonates who were massaged averaged
28 percent greater weight gain per day, showed significantly
fewer postnatal complications and stress behaviors, and
demonstrated more mature motor behaviors on the Brazelton
examination
(Wheeden A, Scafidi FA, Field T, et al. Massage effects on
cocaine-exposed preterm neonates. Journal of Developmental and
Behavioral Pediatrics. 1993:14, 318-322.)
Infant Attentiveness
Depressed mothers increased
their infant’s positive affect
and attentiveness by
providing touch stimulation.
(Pelaez-Nogueras M, Field T,
Hossain Z, Pickens J.
Depressed mothers’ touching
increases infants’ positive
affect and attention in still-
face interactions. Child
Development. 1996:67, 1780-
1792.)
Depressed Teen Mothers
Teenage mothers who received massage therapy compared to
those who received relaxation therapy were less depressed and
less anxious both by their own report and based on behavior
observations. In addition, their urinary cortisol levels were lower
and their serotonin levels were higher, indicating they were less
stressed and less depressed.
(Field T, Grizzle N, Scafidi F, Schanberg S. Massage and
relaxation therapies’ effects on depressed adolescent mothers.
Adolescence. 1996: 31, 903-911.)
Children with
Down Syndrome
Infants with Down Syndrome improved in muscle tone and in
performance on motor tasks following massage therapy.
(Hernandez-Reif M, Ironson G, Field T, et al. “Children with Down
Syndrome improved in motor function and muscle tone following
massage therapy.” Journal of Early Intervention. 2006: 176, 395-
410.)
Fathers and Infants
Fathers who gave their infants
daily massage 15 minutes prior to
bedtime for one month showed
more optimal interaction behavior
with their infant.
(Cullen C, Field T, Escalona A,
Hartshorn K. Father-infants
interactions are enhanced by
massage therapy. Early Child
Development and Care. 2000: 164,
41-47.)
Infants Exposed to HIV
HIV-exposed newborns who were given massage showed
increased weight gain and improved performance on the
Brazelton Newborn Scale (motor and state scales).
(Scafidi F, Field T. Massage therapy improves behavior in
neonates born to HIV positive mothers. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology. 1997: 21, 889-897.)
Children with
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Children with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who
were massaged by their parents 15 minutes a day for 30 days saw
their anxiety and cortisol levels immediately decrease. Over the
30-day period their pain also decreased, based on self-reports,
parent reports and physician’s reports.
(Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Seligman S, et al. Juvenile
rheumatoid arthritis: Benefits from massage therapy. Journal of
Pediatric Psychology. 1997: 22, 607-617.)
Children with
Cerebral Palsy
Massage reduced spasticity, and
increased muscle flexibility,
motor function and positive social
interactions in children with
cerebral palsy.
(Hernandez-Reif M, Field T,
Largie S, et al. Cerebral Palsy
Symptoms in children decreased
following massage therapy. Early
Child Development and Care.
2005: 175, 445-456.)
Infant Massage with
preterm infants in the NICU
53% more weight gain in
grower nursery in NICU
Containment
Infant Massage Program
Benefits for parents and
primary caregivers include:
• Provides all of the essential indicators of intimate parent-infant bonding and
attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, voice, smell, movement, and thermal regulation.
• Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant
• Helps parents feel more confident and competent in caring for their children
• Helps parents to ease their stress if they are a working parent and must be separated
from their children for extended periods during the day
• Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children
• Creates a regular time of intimacy between parent and child.
• Increases parents' self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and
validates their role
• Gives parents the tools for understanding their child's unique rhythms and patterns
• Teaches parents how to read their infants' cues and recognize their states of awareness
• Gives parents a special way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. Helps
parents feel a greater part
of the healing process
• Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax
• Provides a positive way for fathers to interact with their infants/children
Benefits for infants, babies and
children include the following:
• Provides a special time of communication that fosters love, compassion, and respect
• Improves general well-being
• Provides an intimate time for children to confide in parents
• Improves overall functioning of the gastrointestinal tract
• Promotes relaxation and helps babies self-regulate calm, which reduces crying
• Helps to normalize muscle tone
• Improves circulation
• Enhances immune system function
• Improves midline orientation
• Helps to improve sensory and body awareness
• Enhances neurological development
• Helps baby/child to sleep deeper and more soundly
• Helps to increase oxygen and nutrient flow to cells. Improves respiration
• Helps to improve pain management; can relieve discomfort from teething,
• Helps with congestion, gas, and colic
• Enhances release of hormones in the body. The growth hormone can be stimulated which helps
weight gain.
• Reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone • Provides all of the essential indicators of
intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, voice, smell, movement, and
thermal regulation.
• Stimulates all of the physiological systems. Massage sparks the neurons in their brains to grow
and branch out to encompass other neurons.
Infant massage classes
Family-Centered
Infant massage embedded in
daily routine (after a bath)
Reading Infant’s Cues
Engagement
Engagement:
Eye contact
Disengagement
Early communication skills:
asking permission
Infant Massage
Regulate sleep patterns
Reducing crying
Colic routine
“I Love You” Stroke
Infant Massage
• Legs & Feet
• Tummy & Chest
• Arms & Hands
• Back
• Head & Face
Firm pressure
Legs
Feet
Tummy & Chest
Arms
Hands & Fingers
Back
Face
Stretching
Stretching Exercises
Infant massage
Resources
Evidence-Based Outcomes
of Infant Massage Program
• Teach parent
responsivity to
infant’s cues
• Contribute to positive
health outcomes
• Contribute to infant
developmental skill
acquisition
• Encourage positive
parent-infant
attachment patterns